Wyoming Area’s Drew Keating (11) scoops up one of his game-high 12 rebounds and scores against Holy Redeemer.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Holy Redeemer’s Kaden Sepkoski pulls down a rebound and then scores for the Royals against Wyoming Area.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Holy Redeemer’s Cody Quaglia hits for two of his four first-half points against Wyoming Area.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Wyoming Area’s Bruno Pizzano (21) steals the ball and then dishes off to Luke Kopetchny (3) for a fastbreak against Holy Redeemer.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Wyoming Area’s Luke Kopetchny (3) stops and pops a 15-footer for the Warriors.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
EXETER — Mitchell Rusinchak gave Wyoming Area’s offense a much-needed boost in the third quarter Tuesday night. The defense seized control down the stretch.
The combination kept the Warriors atop the Division 2 standings in Wyoming Valley Conference boys basketball.
Rusinchak nailed all three of his 3-pointers in the third quarter and Wyoming Area held Holy Redeemer without a point over the game’s final six minutes for a 60-49 win.
Wyoming Area (6-0 Div. 2, 12-1 overall) scored the game’s final 13 points. The game shuffled the standings with Tunkhannock moving into second place and Redeemer (4-2 Div. 2, 7-7) falling into a third-place tie with Hanover Area.
Wyoming Area came into the game averaging 64.7 points but was well off the pace at halftime. Redeemer shot nearly 50% from inside the arc to take a 27-22 lead into the break.
“Their zone really had us mixed up,” Wyoming Area coach Anthony Macario said. “They had a great game plan. That match-up zone they were playing, they really had us out of sorts. We were rushing shots, we turned the ball over, we didn’t rebound in the first half.”
The Royals then led by nine in the third quarter before Rusinchak knocked down his 3-pointers to help cut the deficit to 44-42 entering the fourth.
“I think that gave us a lot of energy,” said Rusinchak, who finished with 15 points. “It pumped everything up and got us playing better defense.”
Wyoming Area took a 47-46 lead on another Rusinchak three at 6:24 of the final quarter, only to surrender the lead a few seconds later on a 3-pointer by Redeemer’s Jack Wasiakowski.
Wasiakowski’s bucket were the last points Redeemer scored as Division 2 scoring leader Luke Kopetchny hit a floater to ignite a 13-0 Wyoming Area run to end the game.
Shane Pepe finished off the game with four consecutive free throws in the final 9.4 seconds, including two for a technical foul.
“We went a little cold shooting the ball,” Redeemer coach Paul Guido said. “We got some good looks that we didn’t put in the hole in those last six minutes. I think their defensive kind of ratcheted up too, sped us up a little bit for those last six minutes.”
Every Warrior contributed to the game-ending run. Drew Keating, who finished with a game-high 12 rebounds, and Pepe grabbed key defensive boards that led to baskets. Bruno Pizzano added a key bucket early in the run off a pass from Kopetchny.
Kopetchny finished with 23 points, slightly below his season average of 24.9. Pepe had 10. Charlie Schaffer was the only Royal in double figures with 11.
“Every time we play Redeemer it’s a battle,” Rusinchak said. “They give us their best every time. This time we came out on top.”
The teams play again Feb. 3 at Redeemer.
Wyoming Area 60, Holy Redeemer 49
HOLY REDEEMER (49) — Cody Quaglia 4 0-2 9, Quron Drayton 4 0-0 8, Kyaire McLean 0 0-0 0, Kaden Sepkoski 3 0-0 6, Charlie Schaffer 5 0-3 11, Logan Shrader 2 0-0 5, Josh Grohowski 0 0-0 0, Jack Wasiakowski 2 0-0 5, Lucas Shrader 0 0-0 0, Max Mohutsky 2 0-0 5, Matthew Stilp 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 0-5 49.
WYOMING AREA (60) — Shane Pepe 1 7-7 10, Luke Kopetchny 8 7-8 23, Drew Keating 3 1-2 7, Collin Casterlin 0 0-0 0, Mitchell Rusinchak 5 1-2 14, Bruno Pizzano 2 1-2 5. Totals 19 17-21 60.
Holy Redeemer`14`13`17`5 — 49
Wyoming Area`8`14`20`18 — 60
Three-point goals: HR 5 (Quaglia, Schaffer, Lo.Shrader, Wasiakowski, Mohutsky). WA 5 (Pepe, Rusinchak 4).
